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Month: June 2014

Dr Singh who runs his botox clinic in Stevenage, Hertfordshire, in his latest blog shares his thoughts on common misconceptions regarding botox treatments.

There are certain misconceptions, normally led by the public media, that patients may think are true facts about botox, here are some of them.

Frozen look

Many patients have seen celebrities that have been over botoxed and have the frozen look. We can control the effects of the botox injections so you should never have the frozen look. I prefer my patients to have a natural look after the botox treatment, this is where they can still move their face but the lines are either reduced or eliminated after the botox.

Poison

Like any medicine botox is therapeutic in the correct dose but can be poisonous in extremely large doses. The amount of botox we use to correct fine lines and wrinkles is so tiny compared to the danger level, that you will never reach this limit.

Side effects

We all remember cases where botox has gone wrong in celebrities. However what we don’t see is all the cases that have gone to plan. There are certain side effects that we tell all our patients receiving botox treatments. These can be swelling and bruising.

The other main side effect is either drooping of the eyebrows or raising of the eyebrows to give a shocked look. Both of these side effects can be reduced by understanding how the muscles work and starting with a careful dose of botox initially.

Addiction

Many patients feel that botox as a drug is addictive. There is no evidence to show that you can be addicted to botox. However because the results are so good with botox, many patients are reluctant to stop their botox treatments.

Dr Singh who runs his botox clinic in Stevenage, Hertfordshire, in his latest blog talks about botox and the various dilutions we can use.

Botox® is presented to a clinician in a powder form. To make the botox active it is mixed with saline. The amount of saline used (dilution) will cause different results.

The more concentrated the botox (the less saline used), the less the botox will spread when injected. This is vitally important for areas such as smokers lines and corners of the mouth. In these areas you don’t want the botox to spread into neighbouring muscles and cause unwanted side effects.

Compare this to large areas such as the underarms for hyperhidrosis. In these cases you want the botox to spread due to the large area being injected. You want to minmise the number of botox injections given, so you would have a more diluted version of the botox.

In summary, when looking at the botox you have, as well as looking at the number of botox units used you need to appreciate the dilution of that particular botox.

Dr Singh who runs his botox clinic in Stevenage, Hertfordshire, in his latest blog shares his thoughts on botox for the underarms.

Excessive sweating from the underarm area, also known as hyperhidrosis, is a condition that effects more people than you might think. This is more prevalent during the summer months.

Some of my botox patients that are effected with this, normally wont wear coloured clothing as the sweat is more noticeable.

Now, botox can be used to eliminate or reduce the excessive sweating and let these patients lead a more normal life and for once enjoy the Summer.

The botox procedure is relatively straight forward. You must not use any deodorant for at least 24 hours before the botox injections. On average we would use around 12-15 botox injection spots per underarm. Then we would review the results after 2 weeks and administer any top up botox if required.

Dr Singh who runs his botox clinic in Stevenage, Hertfordshire, in his latest blog talks about botox and its history.

Botox® injections were first approved in 1989 for therapeutic use in Blepharospasm and Strabismus. Since that time, botox in the medical field has continued to expand.

Botox® injections have come a long way from those early years and now is the treatment of choice for the non surgical improvement of fine lines and wrinkles.

The big breakthrough for botox came when ophthalmologist Dr. Jean Carruthers noticed her patients were looking fabulously wrinkle–free. After Dr. Carruthers and her husband’s (a dermatologist) study on Botox®’s ability to decrease frown lines was published.

Botox® does get a bad press for two reasons. The first is that people associate it as a poison. In theory they are correct, but the amount of botox needed to become dangerous is so off the radar compared to the small quantities we need to inject to improve the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. Botox®, like any other medicines is therapeutic at the correct dose bit dangerous in high doses.

The second stigma attached to botox is the frozen look adopted by many celebrities. You can control the effects of the botox treatments via the dilutions and the quantity injected. I always advise and recommend my botox patients to go for the natural look. This means they can still carry out facial expressions but their lines are either eliminated or reduced. Most of the public will not notice that my patients have undertaken botox treatments.